The UK-funded Anguilla Programme and the recovery efforts are probably so important that Mr. Ben Merrick, Director of the Overseas Territories, skipped the other Caribbean sister territories and came straight to Anguilla to see the work in progress.
He arrived on the island on Tuesday, March 26, and left two days later to return to London. He began his tour of the projects on Thursday, March 28, taking up more than half of the day. His first visit was to the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School which was severely damaged by Hurricane Irma and is now to be relocated.
He was accompanied there by Mr. Gareth Holvey, Head of Economies & Finance Services, Overseas Territories, Foreign and Commonwealth Office; Mr. Darren Forbes-Batey, Manager of the Anguilla Programme and members of the Governor’s Office team; Anguilla’s Chief Minister, Mr. Victor Banks; Mrs. Cora Richardson-Hodge, Minister of Home Affairs and Education; Mrs. Chanelle Petty Barrett, Permanent Secretary; Mrs. Dawn Reid, Education Services Planner; and Mrs. Rita Celestine Carty, Principal of the Comprehensive School.
Mr. Merrick, who was first in Anguilla in November 2017, following Hurricane Irma, and saw the devastation of the island, was given a rundown of the compromised functioning of the school by the Principal as well as the Minister. He was also able to have chats with students involved in humanities and history classes.
Mr. Merrick spoke to one of the students, Riana Richardon, a member of the Student Council, afterwards:
“How are you feeling about your exams?” he asked her.
“It is a lot of knowledge to take in,” she replied.
“I was just talking to your Principal about the shift system and so on. How are you finding that compared to how it used to be?”
“Well, I like to go home early in the morning; but I don’t reach home until in the night because I have activities right after school, and I also have clubs to go to.”
“Do you find that if you are on the early shift that makes it more difficult to start in the mornings, or are you okay with it?”
“Riana is a member of our Student Council, and is a very busy young lady,” the Principal interrupted.
“Sounds like,” Mr. Merrick commented. “Are you going to be a Teacher or a Minister of Education?” he asked Riana.
She laughed.
Asked to comment on his visit to the school, Mr. Merrick told The Anguillian newspaper: “First of all, it is always intriguing to see the faces of staff and the pupils in schools, and there was a lively sense amongst the pupils I just met. Normally, when I speak to pupils about to take exams, they don’t sound very exciting – but there was a very good sense here and I just spoke to one of the pupil leaders. I think she is very motivated and seems to want to be a Minister in the future. There was just a lesson changeover and there seems to be a really good buzz amongst the kids wandering around.”
Mr. Merrick continued: “Speaking to the Principal and the Minister about the school’s campus, it is really good to see the academic side and the vocational sort of things that are possible. I am conscious that this is a campus that has been affected very much by Hurricane Irma – and discussing what is possible for the future is really important. We need to work in partnership to think about the setup at the new location.
“I am conscious of the challenges as we work towards the future. I am completely struck by the commitment of all the staff and the Ministers working on the project. There are obviously big challenges, and I am conscious that the shift system impacts not just on the children, but also on the teachers as well. It is great that the people are making the best of a very challenging situation, but I am conscious that, for the long term, there will be impacts not just on the children’s education, but society and so on. We have to accept that Hurricane Irma has had a big and longstanding impact, and we need to work together to address the situation.
“It has been a great opportunity to see all these things. Inevitably there is more to be done, and we will continue to work in partnership with the Government of Anguilla. I am very pleased to have been able to come on this occasion and to see so much in progress.”
Asked about his thoughts on Mr. Merrick’s visit, Chief Minister, Mr. Victor Banks, commented: “We have tried very hard to increase contributions to certain key sectors especially the social services. Thankfully, we have the Anguilla Programme from the UK Government so that we can respond to the issues of the school. Right now we are standing here at Campus A of the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School. We cannot continue to have the shift system indefinitely because we may lose the attention of students in two years. We are grateful that the Director of the Overseas Territories is here to have a look at the situation and to press the urgency to move to the new location.”
Mr. Merrick’s next visit was to the proposed bushland site for the Comprehensive School – a 17-acre lot in The Quarter owned by the Anguilla Government.
The Anguillian newspaper asked the Minister of Education whether she thought the need for the new Comprehensive School campus was convincingly put across to Mr. Merrick.
“I think so,” Mrs. Richardson-Hodge replied. “Mr. Merrick was able to speak with the Principal of the school as the person on the ground. She is at the school every day dealing with the shift system, and having fewer resources than in the past. I think this has been a very good opportunity for us to showcase our needs.”
The Minister added: “The new Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School is anticipated to cost about 32 million dollars for its construction. The consultants are on the island, as we speak, and there is some additional work for them to do – and there is a role as well in the project management.”
Mr. Merrick next toured the Princess Alexandra Hospital with Governor Foy; the Minister of Health, Mr. Evans Rogers; the CEO of the Health Authority and others. He visited the Dialysis Unit and the various well-renovated general wards; saw the new concrete roof which replaced the galvanize roof destroyed by Hurricane Irma; saw the state-of-the -art equipment including the new CT Scan machine funded by donations initiated by Mr. Rogers; toured the new maternity extension funded by the West India Committee and Mrs. Blondel Cluff – and the newly-built generator plant equipped with two large generators provided by the UK Government among other equipment.
The Director of the Overseas Territories commented: “I am really pleased that the UK Government has been able to work in partnership with the Government of Anguilla, and to see the range of different facilities and services that are being provided. It was also great to hear about the way in which the Minister and the Chief Executive Officer talked about joining up with border issues such as the Old People’s Home or the resilience around the emergency generators. I am conscious that while there are challenges, there are a number of opportunities, as well, in terms of thinking what the long-term future can hold. Yes, it has been a most helpful visit.”
Mr. Merrick and party next visited the Lands and Surveys Department, one of the most important and sensitive areas of Government dealing with critical land ownership, social, cultural and economic issues on the island. There he was shown records, maps and surveys by the Director, Mr. Leslie Hodge, and members of his technical team.
He next stopped at the Department of Inland Revenue at its new location at the former National Bank of Anguilla, now being occupied by several Government Departments and offices – and is to be acquired later.
There, Mr. Merrick met the Comptroller of Inland Revenue, Mr. Kiel Connor, the Deputy Director, Ms. Tameika Fleming, and observed interactions between staff and customs, in a more spacious and friendly environment.
The Anguillian asked Mr. Merrick what he learnt about the Inland Revenue Department as well as the Lands and Surveys Department which he visited earlier.
He replied: “Firstly, I think Inland Revenue and the related organizations, such as Customs, for example, are a really important part of the way in which any Government operates. Often, it is the sort of thing that people really don’t think about when they think of Government, but it is fundamental – and it is really good to see the approach that the Comptroller and the officials here are taking, and also the Chief Minister and the Ministers. Paying or collecting tax are the sort of things that people should do to make society run properly, and it is absolutely vital to make those things work as easily as possible.
“I know there are some people who don’t like to pay tax. I think the key thing is actually the way in which the officials here are tightening up procedures and making sure that everyone is paying the tax they should do. This is day three that the people here are operating in this building and the customers seem very happy.”
Commenting on his visit to Lands and Surveys, Mr. Merrick said: “I think land is an incredibly important matter for everyone. Someone at the Land Registry was talking about land and people being the key resources which I completely agree with. I think it was interesting to see the theme about modernization and digitalization, but also customer service, or making it as easy as possible for people to use Government’s services, move quickly through the system and indeed making it as easy as possible for people to pay Government.”
Mr. Merrick also toured the Blowing Port temporary facilities which will later be replaced by a new Passenger Terminal funded under the Anguilla Programme. There, he met and spoke with the Minister of Infrastructure and Communications, Mr. Curtis Richardson, and personnel of the Anguilla Air and Sea Ports Authority. The Minister expressed delight that UK Government was funding the project. He was grateful to Governor Foy, and the UK Government, for supporting the project which is to replace the former passenger terminal destroyed by Hurricane Irma.
The final visit by Mr. Merrick was to the Combined Services Building at the Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport. It provides accommodation for the new Control Tower and the Anguilla Fire and Rescue Service. The tour was led by Chief Fire Officer, Mr. Shondell Hodge, who, among other things, showed Mr. Merrick the new fire trucks paid for under the Anguilla Programme.
“I have never seen these sorts of vehicles before,” he stated. “But I think in terms of running the airport professionally and safely, they are obviously important assets to have. We have just been talking about linking into the overall operation of the airport and indeed the broader issues of search and rescue. I think it is fantastic to see these sorts of capabilities.”
Asked the British Government’s view about the planned expansion of the airport, he said: “Our view is always that we want all our Overseas Territories to have flourishing and self-sufficient economies, but it is really important to have a strong business case for whatever is done. It has to be viable and also any monies spent on one project has an opportunity cost. So, at the moment, we are still working with the Government Anguilla on the potential business case.”
The Director of the Overseas Territories was asked to sum up his visit to Anguilla. He replied:
“I came to Anguilla before in November 2017, two months after Hurricane Irma. Part of my purpose for coming this time, as well as meeting politicians and many other people, was to assess the recovery that has been taking place since Hurricane Irma and also the preparedness for the season to come; to talk about issues such as the fiscal reforms that the Government is thinking through and a whole range of other issues around health and education.
“I think it is a really positive story that Anguilla has to tell. It is good to see that everything is being achieved since I was last here and the plans for the future. The other points I was talking about had to do with taxation, customer service, and how the Government’s administration works as a whole. There have been all sorts of great work on that front and lots of exiting initiatives and approaches as to what will happen in the future.
“We are here at the airport. We have just been at the Ferry Terminal [at Blowing Point] and there are great plans for what will happen there going forward.”
